Kursk (film)
| starring = Matthias Schoenaerts Léa Seydoux Colin Firth Peter Simonischek August Diehl Max von Sydow | narrator = | music = Alexandre Desplat | cinematography = Anthony Dod Mantle | editing = Valdís Óskarsdóttir | studio = EuropaCorp Belga Productions VIA EST | distributor = * Saban Films }} | released = | runtime = 117 minutes | country = France Belgium Luxembourg | language = English | budget = $40 mil. | gross = $6.5 mil.Kursk. BOM, 2019 }} Kursk (released as The Command in the US and as Kursk: The Last Mission in the UK) is a 2018 English-language French-Belgian drama film directed by Thomas Vinterberg based on Robert Moore's book A Time to Die, about the true story of the [[Kursk submarine disaster|2000 Kursk submarine disaster]]. It stars Matthias Schoenaerts, Colin Firth, Léa Seydoux, Peter Simonischek, Max von Sydow, Matthias Schweighöfer and Michael Nyqvist. Plot One hundred and eighteen Russian sailors died during the 2000 K-141 ''Kursk'' submarine disaster. The Kursk sank during a Russian naval exercise in the Barents Sea after explosions within the submarine. Twenty-three sailors survived the crash and desperately waited for help to arrive while their oxygen ran out. The Russian government refused help from foreign governments for five days before agreeing to aid from the British and Norwegian governments. In the movie, the twenty-three sailors who survived the initial blast survive for an extended period, while three rescue attempts by the Russian navy fail. In reality all sailors died within eight hours of the blast, thus before the first rescue attempt. Cast * Matthias Schoenaerts as Russian Navy captain-lieutenant Mikhail Averin * Léa Seydoux as Tanya Averina , Mikhail Averin's wife * Artemiy Spiridonov as Misha Averin, Mikhail Averin's son * Colin Firth as Commodore David Russell * Martin Brambach as Captain Shirokov * Guido De Craene as Calpin * Geoffrey Newland as Tony Scott *Danny Van Meenen as Paal Dinessen * Kristof Coenen as Sasha * August Diehl as Anton Markov * Peter Simonischek as Admiral Vyacheslav Grudzinsky * Max von Sydow as Admiral Vitaly Petrenko * Michael Nyqvist as Admiral Nesterov * Bjarne Henriksen as Russian Captain * Matthias Schweighöfer as Pavel Sonin * Lars Brygmann as Kasyanenko Production On 17 August 2015, it was announced that EuropaCorp was developing a film based on the 2000 K-141 Kursk submarine disaster, and that Martin Zandvliet had been hired to direct the film from a script by Robert Rodat, based on Robert Moore's 2002 book A Time to Die. "Kursk" would have been Zandvliet's first English-language film. On 21 January 2016, it was reported that Zandvliet was no longer attached and that EuropaCorp had hired Thomas Vinterberg to direct the film. On 2 March 2016, Matthias Schoenaerts was announced in the cast, reteaming with Vinterberg after Far from the Madding Crowd (2015). Colin Firth joined the cast on 26 May 2016. Léa Seydoux joined the cast on 7 February 2017, in the role of Tanya, the wife of Mikhail Kalekov, a Russian Navy captain-lieutenant played by Matthias Schoenaerts. Rachel McAdams was once in talks for the role of Tanya. Deadline Hollywood also reported that Firth would play David Russell, a British naval commander going against Russia's warnings to try to save the men on the Kursk. On 15 March 2017, it was reported that Vladimir Putin's character has been cut from the film before an actor was cast for the role. According to The Hollywood Reporter, EuropaCorp's president, Luc Besson, wanted to shift the story's focus to the rescue mission rather than the politics behind the disaster. One theory noted by The Hollywood Reporter is that nobody at EuropaCorp wanted to be hacked. (The film The Interview had angered Kim Jong-un and was believed to have sparked the Sony hack in 2014.) Putin had been Russian president for eight months when the tragedy had occurred. He was supposed to appear as a supporting character in at least five scenes and was sympathetically portrayed in the original Kursk script, which highlighted why he had taken the tragedy personally (Putin's father had been a submariner). On 8 May 2017, Peter Simonischek, Max von Sydow and Michael Nyqvist were announced in the cast. However, Nyqvist died on 27 June.Michael Nyqvist, ‘Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’ Star, Dies at 56. By Alex Stedman. Variety.com, June 27, 2017. Alexandre Desplat composed the movie score. The crew includes Catherine Marchand as the costume designer, Anthony Dod Mantle as the director of photography, Thierry Flamand as the production designer and Valdis Oskardottir as the film's editor. Subject matter experts such as journalist Robert Moore (author of the novel upon which the film is based), David Russell (British Royal Navy commodore who had tried to save the men from the Kursk), and submarine expert Ramsey Martin acted as advisors for the film. The project was produced by France's EuropaCorp with Belgium's Belga Productions and Luxembourg's VIA EST. Filming Shooting was scheduled to start in September 2016, but it had to be postponed due to Russia's defense ministry not issuing a permit for shooting in the country, which would run for about a month. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Russia's defense ministry originally promised cooperation with the crew to provide realism to the movie. However, later it reportedly grew concerned about granting access to classified information and sensitive locations. On 7 February 2017, ScreenDaily.com reported that shooting was scheduled to start in April. Filming started at the Naval base of Toulon, France, on 26 April 2017. Some scenes were filmed with Colin Firth at the commercial port of Brest, France, between 2 May and 6 May 2017, including scenes aboard the rescue ship Atlantic Tonjer, serving as the Seaway Eagle. On 8 May 2017, it was reported that shooting would take place not only in France but also in locations throughout Europe, including Belgium and Norway. On 12 July 2017, the crew was in Jette (Brussels) and scenes were filmed in "Salle Excelsior" (Place Cardinal Mercier). Release The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 6 September 2018. It is scheduled to be released through DirecTV Cinema on 23 May 2019, before being released in a limited release on 21 June 2019, by Saban Films. Reception On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 69% based on 32 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 53 out of 100, based on results from 6 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". See also * List of Submarine films References External links * Category:French films Category:Belgian films Category:2018 films Category:2010s drama films Category:2010s disaster films Category:French drama films Category:French disaster films Category:Belgian drama films Category:Belgian disaster films Category:Luxembourgian films Category:EuropaCorp films Category:Saban Films films Category:Disaster films based on actual events Category:English-language films Category:Films about seafaring accidents or incidents Category:Films about survivors of seafaring accidents or incidents Category:Films based on non-fiction books Category:Film scores by Alexandre Desplat Category:Films set in Russia Category:Films shot in France Category:Films shot in Belgium Category:Films shot in Norway Category:Films directed by Thomas Vinterberg Category:Seafaring films based on actual events Category:Submarine films